Melania donates inaugural ball gown to the Smithsonian

First lady Melania Trump gave a shout-out to her new hometown Friday, as she participated in a 100-year-old tradition by donating a gown to the Smithsonian.

‘The president, Barron and I love living here and we are so honored to represent this country,’ the first lady told a crowd gathered in Flag Hall at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, the museum where her inaugural ball gown will now live.

In her speech, which lasted under four minutes, the first lady admitted procuring a ball gown had slipped her mind, so she made ‘poor Hervé,’ designer Hervé Pierre, work on a tight two-week deadline to craft the ‘gorgeous couture piece.’

‘She sent me first a text message and she said, “It’s Melania Trump, can I call you?”‘ the designer recalled to DailyMail.com. ‘And I was like “Ohhh!”‘ he said, making a gasping noise.

The first lady wore the gown, a vanilla off-the-shoulder couture piece designed by Herve Pierre, the night President Trump took office at the Armed Forces inaugural ball. Pierre had two weeks to make the dress. The former model said making the donation was an honor.

Her approval ratings have actually climbed since she joined the White House, from 24 percent of Americans viewing her favorably in February to 54 percent of Americans viewing her favorably in a September CNN poll. She is also the most popular Trump working in the White House. In the same September CNN poll, 54 percent of respondents said they had a favorable view of the first lady, compared with 41 percent favorable of President Trump, 41 percent favorable of Ivanka Trump and 20 percent favorable of Jared Kushner.